XIX Ecumenical Council of Trent 1545-1563 became one of the most important milestones of Catholicism. Most of the adopted dogmas after half a millennium remain relevant. The high Assembly of the spiritual leaders of the Catholic Church met at the height of the Reformation, when the inhabitants of northern Europe, dissatisfied with the abuses and luxurious life of the churchmen, refused to recognize the authority of the Pope. The Council of Trent and the most important results of its work became a decisive "attack" on the reformers, marking the milestone of the Counter-Reformation of the 16th century.
Spiritual causes of conflict
The Catholic Church by the end of the 15th century concentrated many lands in its hands and accumulated great we alth. In Europe, the church tithe was common - the collection of a tenth of the profit from the harvest or cash income. The Church lived magnificently, at a time when a significant part of the faithfulwas poor. This circumstance undermined the foundations of faith, the authority of the church. In addition, the popes of Rome widely launched the sale of indulgences - special letters "for the remission of sins." For a certain amount of indulgence, a person, regardless of the severity of misconduct, was freed from any sin. Such a sale caused discontent among believers. The center of the Reformation was Germany, which was then fragmented and resembled a “patchwork quilt”. Against such an unfavorable background, it was decided to convene the Council of Trent.
Significant damage to the authority of the Catholic Church caused humanism. Its leader was Erasmus of Rotterdam. In the pamphlet Praise of Stupidity, the humanist sharply condemned the shortcomings and ignorance of churchmen. Another figure in German humanism was Ulrich von Hutten, who considered papal Rome to be opposed to the unification of Germany. It should be added that the believers were also irritated by the fact that the language of worship was Latin, which ordinary parishioners did not understand.
Reformation
The Reformation has become a global challenge to the foundations of the Catholic Church. For the most part, the decisions of the Council of Trent were directed against the Reformation. The original idea was to have a joint meeting of the Council chaired by the Pope and the leaders of the Reformation. However, the dialogue, rather, a scholastic dispute did not work out.
October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed the "95 Theses" to the door of his church in Wittenberg, sharply condemning the sale of indulgences. In a short time, tens of thousands of peoplebecame supporters of Luther's ideas. In 1520, the Pope issued a bull excommunicating a monk from the Church. Luther burned it publicly, which meant the final break with Rome. Martin Luther didn't mind the church, he wanted it to be simpler. The postulates of the reformers were clear to everyone:
- Priests could marry, wear ordinary clothes, must obey the laws common to all.
- The Lutheran Church refused icons and sculptures of Christ and the Mother of God.
- The Bible is the only source of Christian faith.
The birth of Protestantism
Emperor Charles V decided to intervene. In 1521 Luther arrived at the Reichstag in Worms. There he was offered to renounce his views, but Luther refused. Indignant, the emperor left the meeting. On the way home, Luther was attacked, but the Elector of Saxony Frederick the Wise saved him by hiding him in his castle. The absence of Martin Luther did not stop the Reformation.
In 1529, Emperor Charles V demanded from the apostates to observe exclusively the Catholic religion in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire (essentially Germany). But 5 principalities with the support of 14 cities expressed their protest. From that moment on, Catholics began to call supporters of the Reformation Protestants.
Offensive on the Reformation
In all its long history, the Catholic Church has never experienced such a deep shock as the Reformation. With the support of the rulers of Catholic countries, papal Rome began an active struggle against the "Protestant heresy." Systemmeasures aimed at stopping and eradicating reform ideas and movements, was called the Counter-Reformation. The trigger for these events was the Council of Trent in 1545.
The beginning of the offensive against the Reformation was marked by the revival of the medieval Inquisition, in the hearths of which hundreds of "Protestant heretics" perished. The Inquisitors took control of book publishing. Without their permission, not a single work could be printed, and "harmful" literature was entered into a special "index of prohibited books" and was subject to burning.
Catholic Reform
The Reformation split the Catholic world in half, but in the middle of the 16th century, Europeans hoped that the situation could still be corrected. It is only necessary that both sides take a step towards each other in search of reconciliation. So thought not only ordinary believers, but also part of the cardinals and bishops. From among them, the voices of those who called on the Holy See to reform the church sounded more and more insistent.
The popes hesitated for a long time before agreeing to the transformation. Finally, in 1545, Pope Paul III convened an Ecumenical Council. The venue of the Council of Trent corresponds to the city of Trento (Italy). It took place intermittently until 1563, that is, for 18 years.
Victory for the Reformers of the Catholic Church
From the very beginning, the participants of the council split into two groups - supporters of the Catholic reform and its opponents. In fierce discussions, the latter won. Under their pressureadopted the main decisions of the Council of Trent, securing the position of the Catholic faith for centuries.
The papacy had to cancel the sale of indulgences, and to ensure the future of the Catholic Church to create a network of theological seminaries. Within their walls, Catholic priests of a new type should be trained, who, in their education, were not inferior to Protestant preachers.
The Council of Trent: its meanings and consequences
The Cathedral was the answer of Catholicism to Protestantism. It was convened by Pope Paul III in 1542, but due to the Franco-German war, the first meeting did not take place until 1945. The council was held by three popes. There were 25 meetings in total, but only 13 sessions were used to make fateful decisions that concerned faith, customs or disciplinary rules.
The Council of Trent belongs to the most significant in the history of the Catholic Church. The dogmas adopted at the meetings deal with many fundamental issues. For example, the sources of faith were identified, the canon of the books of Holy Scripture was approved. At the Council, separate dogmas were discussed that were rejected by the Protestants. Based on the discussions, the attitude towards indulgences was revised.
The questions of the sacrament of baptism and chrismation, Euraschis and repentance, communion, the sacrifice of St. Liturgy, marriage. This dogmatic series was completed by the decision on purgatory, the veneration of saints, and so on.
Pope Pius IX approved the council decrees of 1564. After his death, Pope St. Pius V issued a catechism confirmed by the Council, updatedbreviary and updated missal.
Council of Trent: major decisions
- The inviolability of the church hierarchy, Mass and confession.
- Preservation of the seven sacraments, worship of holy icons.
- Confirmation of the intermediary role of the church and the supreme power of the Pope within it.
The Council of Trent laid the groundwork for the renewal of Catholicism and the strengthening of church discipline. He showed that the break with Protestantism was complete.
Teaching of the Council of Trent on the Eucharist
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) de alt with the issue of the Eucharist throughout its duration. He adopted three important decrees
- Decree on the Holy Eucharist (1551).
- "Decree on Communion of Two Kinds and Communion of Little Children" (16. VII.1562).
- "Decree on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Holy Mass" (X. 17, 1562).
The Council of Trent defends, above all, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the way in which this presence appears under the images of wine and bread during the consecration – “transubstantiatio”. Of course, this was a general elucidation of the method, because there were disputes among theologians around the detailed explanation of how exactly this "transubstantiatio" occurs.
Previously, it was assumed that Christ is present in the Eucharist after the Liturgy, if the consecrated Body and Blood remain. The Council of Trent confirmed this. The essential identity between the sacrifice of the Holy Office and the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was also confirmed.
After the Council of Trenttheologians again concentrated on the narrow vision of the Eucharist: on the presence of Christ and on the sacrificial character of the Mass. This approach convinced the Protestants that they were right. Especially much was said about the mass sacrifice, and although it was never denied that this was the only sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the excessive emphasis on the sacrifice of the Service in itself could give the impression that this sacrifice was divorced from the historical one. In addition, the overemphasis that the priest during the Eucharist service is the "second Christ" has greatly diminished the role of the loyal people during the liturgy.
Conclusion
The dogmas approved by the Council of Trent, for the most part, have survived unchanged to this day. The Catholic Church lives by the laws adopted 500 years ago. That is why the Council of Trent is considered by many to be the most important since the division of the one church into Catholic and Protestant.
